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Fats, Health and Performance

Science, politics, food and how to stay healthy in the modern world

Dr Thomas Hughes

Aims of this talk


Give a very brief outline of the science The lipid hypothesis Politics involved very brief What goes into our foods Fat and performance

Why am I doing this talk


Health or deterioration of it starts early Increase in impaired glucose tolerance noted in blood results in younger patients Number of young patients seen in Cardio with heart attacks by myself Health is a spectrum not a threshold Relatives with illness

Nutrition
3 main macronutrients - Protein, Fat and Carbohydrate Newly invented macronutrient SUGAR!
It is important therefore that when thinking about reducing sugar in your diet you assume sugar and almost any processed carbohydrate (bread, pasta etc.) even whole wheat versions are one and the same.

Key Hormones
Insulin - elevated blood sugar levels are toxic - insulin acts to drive this down through many mechanisms a natural process - stops liberation of fats from fat tissue so sugar is preferentially used for energy Repeated insulin spikes/high insulin concentrations overtime cause insulin resistance We tolerated this when children but it builds as we get older As Insulin resistance builds increasing blockade at fat tissue, increasing reliance on carbohydrate/food intake.

Average Carbohydrate intake


300-400g Recommended based on energy required not on nutritional requirement Creates 2 cups of sugar - contrast this with the 1 teaspoon of sugar in your blood = lots of insulin

This gives you an idea of how much carbohydrate we consume, this is way over the top and is only prescribed because of an unfounded fear of eating fats please see the lipid hypothesis on this Another quick question, would you eat a whole cup (approx 120g) of pure white sugar? How about a few slices of bread or a bowel of pasta? Its the same thing, by the time its hit your stomach your body doesnt know the difference.

Insulin Resistance
As insulin resistance builds increased insulin required to rid blood of toxic sugar This increases blockade at fat cells but muscles and organs are starving Therefore you are forced to eat more as body fuel locked in The only way the blockade can be overcome is to create larger fat cells, as bigger fat cells can overcome resistance

How powerful is insulin


Mice injected with insulin and fed on grain diet Mice became very fat Food supply stopped but insulin continued to be injected very small amounts Mice starved to death with no loss of body fat, they digested their muscles and organs instead

Leptin
Messenger from stored fat to the brain to tell us how much fat we have Satiety signal Leptin resistance very similar to insulin resistance, caused by carbohydrates and results in less ability to sense when we are full. Leptin tells us how much fat we have, when its disordered our brain gets confused regarding how much energy we have left in the body.

The Lipid Hypothesis


Saturated fat raises serum cholesterol Raised serum cholesterol gives you heart disease Founded and popularised based on observational studies (studying populations not really science) - Correlation does not mean causation
Observational studies are ones which show one variable may be linked to another variable. When you read in the paper that playing golf linked to prostate cancer or standing on one leg increases risk of pregancy then you are looking at observational studies. These studies cannot account for the confounding variables (all the variables such as age or behaviours which may be affecting the results). Take the first one, golf probably is linked to prostate cancer in the fact that older men play golf more and older men have increased risk of prostate cancer. See my point? The most important observational study was the one on the next page, this showed a link between fat intake and heart disease. Unfortunately it was done by a bad scientist who did not consider that there was more than 6 countries in the world as he wanted only the countries that fitted his line on his graph.

Ancel Keys bad scientist

This graph is the foundation of the lipid hypothesis and is complete rubbish. It has laid the foundation for how we think today. It caused the boom in the corn industry and the snacking industry in the UK, and the whole low fat revolution. Can I please shout this next sentence, FAT DOES NOT GIVE YOU HEART DISEASE AND IT DOESNT MAKE YOU FAT.

This is what the real graph would have looked like, see France with its high fat diet and low heart disease, how does ancil keys explain that? Oh its all that red wine and those rubbish French doctors..really? This is called the French Paradox, but its demonstrated all over Europe!

Obesity rise with wheat consumption, observational yes, so limited value, looks much better than the graph with obesity and fat consumption which goes the other way, in this time period we have reduced our fat intake, and yet we are getting fatter!

Saturated Fat and Cholesterol


No studies have ever proven that saturated fat intake increases serum cholesterol Only observational studies have shown an association

Politics Involved
All recommendations by the US heart association/US government were based on bad science (Ancel Keys) Anyone trying to disprove the lipid hypothesis had their funding cut Driven by agriculture and corn industry in the US and snacking industry in the UK

This is the saddest part of the whole story. Started by bad science, driven by money and greed.

Foods and Drinks


Example 1 Sugar, skimmed milk powder, vegetable fat ,whey powder, flavouring, black tea extract 2%, colouring caramel, caseinate 0.6%, stabiliser E451

Could someone please tell me what they believe this is?

My version
Darjeeling tea Ginger Cinnamon Cardamom Pods Cloves Milk

http://www.drinkmechai.co.uk/index.php
Anyone that has heard of this brand, or seen it, they talk about the benefit of chai tea on their website etc. ginger, cardamom etc. but they never say THEY are chai tea, as you can see from the previous list of ingredients they dont have any chai spices in them!

Food example 2
Mycoprotein, rehydrated egg white, malt extract. What is this food marketed as healthy?

Quorn
Made from a mycoprotein extracted from fungus Fusarium venenatum Made in large vats microbial biomass

Introduced as a mushroom based product which has since been removed Oh and it was named after the Leicestershire village! Only marketed as healthy due to meat being labelled as unhealthy

Example 3 marketed as healthy!


Glucose Syrup, Milk Chocolate (22%) [Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Dried Skimmed Milk, Cocoa Mass, Dried Whey, Butter Oil, Emulsifiers (Soya Lecithin, E476), Natural Vanilla Flavouring], Crisped Cereals (21%) [Wheat Flour, Rice Flour, Maize Flour, Wheat Bran Flour, Sugar, Malt Extract, Salt, Raising Agent (Calcium Carbonate), Vegetable Oil, Emulsifier (Soya Lecithin)], Sultanas (8%), Rolled Oats (5%), Dried Apple (3.5%) [contains Preservative (Sulphur Dioxide)], Apple Flavoured Fruit Pieces (3.5%) [Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Concentrated Apple Pure, Humectant (Glycerine), Wheat Fibre, Vegetable Fat, Gelling Agent (Pectin), Flavourings, Antioxidant (Ascorbic Acid)], Vegetable Oil, Emulsifier (E471)

What is this?
sugar, water, wheat flour, rapeseed oil, dried free range egg, emulsifiers lactic acid esters of monoand diglycerides of fatty acids, mono- and diglycerides of fatty acids, polyglycerol esters of fatty acids and sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate, raising agents diphosphates and sodium carbonates, salt, milk whey powder, maize glucose, preservative potassium sorbate,

Victoria Sponge
225g/8oz butter 225g/8oz caster sugar 4 medium eggs 2 tsp vanilla extract 225g/8oz self raising flour milk, to loosen

The Dr Terry Wahls Story


Diagnosed with MS and became rapidly debilitated Researched into nutrients required for myelination Took the supplements with those nutrients and her MS slowed down Starting eating the food with those nutrients and her MS improved
Please watch this video for all the details on Terry Wahls story. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjgBLwH3Wc She essentially gives an example of a disease which we thought was caused by genetics/luck etc. but is in fact cause by specific nutrient deficiencies and when you address this deficiencies you may be able to treat the disease or even cure it.

What are the real killers


Trans fats partial hydrogenation Vegetable oils? - chemically produced - almost redundant in the body (Polyunsaturated fatty acids) - unnatural - oxidise easily in the body (Heart disease etc.) - high omega 6 - deplete the body of antioxidants Sugar
3 types of fats Saturated Mono and poly unsaturated. The body is made up of 97% Saturated and Monounsaturated. So the body does not want PUFA, it wants saturated and mono. Plants are the opposite, hence why veg oils are bad. With the exception of olive oil which is very high in monounsaturated.

Good fats
Coconut oil MCTs (this will be covered more later) Butter grass fed (contains activator X) Lard, yes LARD! (source of Vitamin D) Ghee (look out for vegetable ghee) Olive oil extra virgin only!
Dont be scared of lard. What reason do you have to hate it? All it ever did to you was provide excellent nutrition, all your essential fats and a good source of vitamin D, which you are severely lacking in, not because you dont get enough sun..NO, because yo u dont eat ENOUGH cholesterol to make it (as vitamin D is synthesised in the body from cholesterol). Try getting some Ghee next time you are in tesco just check its not cheap vegetable Ghee. It fries very well and has a fantastic taste and aroma. Activator X is what we now know as vitamin K2, a very powerful vitamin for bone health etc. that we are almost all deficient in. Olive oil, extra virgin only please, anything less i.e. light and mild, regular olive oil etc. has been chemically and heat altered and contains some dangerous toxins.

How to stay healthy


Avoid anything your grandmother wouldnt have eaten! Avoid vegetable oils and trans fats Try to avoid anything processed within reason Reduce sugar/carbohydrate intake and assume they are one and the same Enjoy your food!

If it hasnt been around for at least a few hundred years please avoid it! And above all else can we please get some passion back for food? Food isnt energy to keep us going it is a fantastic enjoyable experience, anyone can cook you just have to follow a good recipe!

Vitamins and Minerals


A multivitamin is largely unnecessary Best practice is to find out what you may be deficient in Fitday.com However a good bet is Vitamin D, K2, Mg, Zn (male), Fe(Female) following testing Iodine
Vitamin D3 2500iu K2 unknown but try to include grass fed butter/dairy in diet Mg 400mg a day Zn 15mg a day Iron post testing Iodine seaweed once per week

Fat and Performance

Accepted truths
Athletes need carbs - before, during and after exercise Glycogen depletion leads to fatigue Consuming carbs is the only way of restoring glycogen If you consume carbs during a workout you get the benefit of endogenous and exogenous energy sources in equal measure

How many of these are true? None of them. But its more complicated than that.

What do we actually need?


The body can run on either carbs or fats For reasons not fully understood it doesnt seem to like running on both Which supply would you rather use? One with 2000kcal One with 100000kcal
The numbers refer to the bodies stores.
2000kcal is the glycogen store (although our body will not let us get anywhere near emptying that) 100000 is the fat stores, days of endurance exercise there. You can use both, but it would be preferable for endurance sport if you could continue using the fat stores up to a higher intensity so you are dipping into the glycogen less.

Rough picture of what happens when carbs are consumed. Note the important bit of super spike blocking fat oxidation (caused by insulin). If you then crash it takes a while to get that back, so the body has nothing to fuel on, hence most people bonk shortly after consuming carbs.

Was the body designed to run on fats or carbs?


Fats supply an almost constant supply of energy, unaffected by intake Fats are anhydrous stored without water, glycogen bound to water 5kg of fat stored as glycogen would be 31kg! Carbs are fast Fats are slow is this true?

Look at the numbers in terms of storage weight. Quite incredible. Often athletes that switch over to this diet loose a few KG very quickly, due to less glycogen. Carbs/glycogen are not stored very efficiently due to the need to be bound to water. There are many benefits!

How can low carb/high fat benefit the athlete?


Leaner Less glycogen required (less weight) + Glycogen sparing No more reliance on a fickle fuel source Say goodbye to the bonk Less GI distress Longer races on less fuel/water
Leaner due to less insulin production, less fat deposited (remember back to the early slides about insulin and fat). Glycogen sparing, you have less of it, but you dip into it at a higher intensity, so you use less. This is often called metabolically flexible or fat adapted, meaning your body can run on almost anything so never tells you it needs fuel i.e. Bonking. Fickle fuel source carbs GI distress is now known to be caused by swelling of the stomach/gut due to carb ingestion, as when you consume carbs water is drawn in to bind to it. This is often why ironman athletes end up heavier than when they started. This swelling causes low fluid in the blood, so stimulates thirst, this makes the problem worse and worse until GI distress happens later on in the race. I believe with more fat/less carb consumption during a race, or just less carb consumption due to reduced requirements GI distress could be a thing of the past. Also, you often find with this diet that you drink less during long sessions, this is due to the phenomenon mentioned above.

How does it work?


Carb to fat conversion - carb dependant athletes wont have the cell machinery for fat metabolism Start slow Find your limits Test your body (carry emergency food) I always have an emergency gel in my pocket!
This is the basic plan of how to start. You need to move off carbs slowly, OR you need to start incorporating workouts that force the body to improve its use of fats, like fasted training. So training in the morning without breakfast. Start slow and short on this and work up, as I say at the bottom, take emergency food with you to protect you against bonking (although many find they never need it). Then over time you can increase the intensity/duration. This isnt all about switching to low carb, you dont have to do that if you dont want to. But its about making your body more metabolically flexible which can massively help performance.

Protein
Firstly low carb is NOT high protein dont overdo it but do consume about 1.0-1.5g/kg per day. Not the total daily protein but having at least 30g each meal

Leucine blood concentrations critical - flips a switch to turn on muscle building


30g of protein switches our body into muscle repair mode, but using the leucine switch. So, at each meal (and after workouts) consume at LEAST 30g. Any less and it will just be converted into fat as it hasnt trip ped the switch. Or even better consume protein and a leucine supplement.

Evidence
The human metabolic response to chronic ketosis without caloric restriction: preservation of submaximal exercise capability with reduced carbohydrate oxidation. Phinney SD, Bistrian BR, Evans WJ, Gervino E, Blackburn GL.

Cyclists spent 4 weeks on a ketogenic diet Cycled at 65% VO2 max till exhaustion (about 2.4 hours) Glucose oxidation dropped from 15mg/kg/min to 5.1mg/kg/min Glycogen use dropped 4 fold Same performance
This is an example of a study where the participants were put on a ketogenic (the diet that I follow) very very low carb. For 4 weeks to see if performance dropped at submax levels. Basically there was no change in performance (probably due to very short adaptation period) but the way they fuelled changed massively with a big drop in glycogen useage. I would therefore bet that with longer adaptation they would have gone much much longer for the same intensity. This is being proved currently by research by the same authors on ultrarunners in the US.

Carb cycling/targeted intake


Targeted carb intake in windows around workouts Find your level of need and how your body responds Other than around workouts carbs are not required Best to avoid consuming carbs before and leading up to a workout then either consume them during if you need them/long hard workout. Or consume them straight after. This is carb backloading

Coconuts/MCT
Coconut contains a fat called MCT medium chain triglyceride MCT acts like a carb, its shorter so broken down quicker If its not used for energy its NOT stored, its converted to ketones by the liver Ketones used to fuel the brain, help get the brain off glucose addiction. See the document on the site about this.

Example meals
Breakfast Eggs, bacon, avocado etc. Tip take breakfast to work with you, eat it when you want it. Not when you are supposed to have it! There is a difference! Lunch Salads olive oil, avocado, fish smoked salmon, tinned sardines, leftovers! Nuts, seeds Dinners Meats Pork (from butcher) slow cooked belly etc. Fattier cuts, cheaper and tastier sweet potatoes, rice (safe starches) Lots of veg!

Food and training


First step is to realise (and allow your body to realise) that you DONT need constant food and the food you may be consuming before training (porridge) may be making training harder Training fasted but with food at the ready No need for carbs in the day prior to training Move carbs to after training Use better carb sources in training (vitargo, starch easier on the stomach and doesnt cause a huge glucose surge and crash)

Example with morning training


Get up coffee (NO MILK!) Train Eat breakfast can have carbs at this time Moderate carbs at lunch No need for carbs at dinner

Evening training
Low carb breakfast Low carb lunch, but with lots of veg, olive oil, nuts, seeds etc. Train after work, but dont eat when you get home, have a bottle of vitargo or similar ready, start to consume at about 1 hour into the session if working out for over 1 hour Dinner with sweet potatoes/white rice

Thanks for Listening


Questions?

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